Improved stat for carriages



G. G. LARKIN.

Carriage-Top Stay. No. 106,595. Patented Aug. 23, 1870.

N. PETERS, PNOTGLQTHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D C,

GEORGE G. L'ARKIN', PORTLAND, MAINE.

Letters Patent]? 106 595, dated August 23, 1870.

nvnenovsn STAY Ion canamens.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEoRGn'G. LARKIN, ofPortland, in the county of Cumberland and State of Maine, have inventeda new and useful improved Stay for Carriage-Tops; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, which will enable others to make and use my invention,reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming'part of thisspecification, in which is shown a view of apiece of the stay with thecovering partially removed therefrom, so as to expose the material ofwhich the body of the stay is formed.

This invention consists in the use and application of a new material inthe formation of a stay to extend from some part of the carriage-seat orseat-rail to the back bow, for the purpose of preventing the top from.tippingor pitching forward, or the leather from wrinkling, between theback-bow and joint prop.

It is well known to all carriage-makers that there has always existedgreat trouble in keeping carriagetops from pitching tor-ward, andkeeping the back bow in its place, and many difiierent kinds of leather,clot-h, belting, 8.50., have been resorted. to, having had the stretch,so called, partly taken out to'remedy the serious evil found inpractice. But after a little use the leather in the back stretches, theold fashioned stay gives, and the top tips forward, and the back bowgives up, causing theleather over the same to wrinkle, greatly to theinjury of the carriage.

My invention consists in using a non-elastic substance, made of materialthat will not yield to any tension.

The non-stretching stay may consist of an iron, steel, brass, copper, orother metal wire-gauze or cloth, or thm strips of steel, brass, or othermetal, that is snfficiently flexible to let the top back, when desiredThis is used inzthe same manner as and in the place of the ordinarystay.

The wrinkles in the leather over the bow, caused by the old-fashionedstay, are much increased by the turning back oi the carriage-top, andwhen they have once been begun, by reason of the stretching or expansionof the stay, soon mar the beauty of the'carriage-top, and render theleather liableto wear out and break.

The contraction and expansion, caused by heat and. cold, will effect thesame to a considerable degree, and with leather stays moisture andsucceeding dryness will make considerable difference in the length ofthe stay, and to the same degree alfect the leather of the carriage top.

The method of construct-ion of my improved stay is as follows:

I out from the wire-cloth or thin sheet metal astrip one or more incheswide, and cover it with some thin material to keep it from wearing theleather or cloth.

The strip is then made fast to the back bow and some part of the seat orseat-rail, or the body of the carriage, by being nailed, or in any otherconvenient and well known way.

This will prevent theme-ck bow from drawing up and loosening theleather, and let-ting thetop pitch forward, and will thus keep theleather smooth and 'the top comely in its appearance, and, at the sametime, this does not prevent the top from lying fiat when the same isthrown back.

Inthe drawinga shows the covering of the stay, and b "the wire-gauzewithin. That I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is-

The improved stay for the tops of covered vehicles, constructed asherein described.

GEORGE G. LARKIN. Witnesses:

W. H. CLIFFORD, HENRY G. Hoosron.

